Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece
by fireandice722
Summary: Kara knows she has feelings for Barry that are beyond anything she's ever felt. She's heartbroken after losing Mon-El, and the WestAllen wedding might just be the final straw. How can she be expected to watch a guy she's been practically in love with ever since she met him be married to another woman, much less a woman who he loves more than anything? Eventual SuperFlash / Karry
1. Chapter 1

Kara really didn't want to go to the wedding. She'd never felt so alone and clueless about the future. Mon-El was back in her life, and it hurt like hell knowing that he had a wife, but there was one thing that she knew would be worse. Losing Mon-El was bad enough, but watching Barry Allen get married to the love of his life… That would truly crush her.

She knew from the moment he swooped in and caught her from falling out the window of the CatCo building that there was something special about Barry. He had a knack for being so hopeful and optimistic; he never gave up, and that made him a real, genuine hero in her eyes. Every time she was around him, she could practically feel hope emanating off of him, this dogged determination that things would always work out in the end, and couldn't help but find that so appealing about him.

As cliche as she thought it was to admit to herself, Barry changed her life in the short time he was on her Earth. She thought Jimmy was someone special, but then came along Barry, and suddenly… Everything was different. She remembered kissing Jimmy after the Flash helped her defeat Silver Banshee and Livewire. Even if he was being brainwashed by Non, she could just tell from the kiss that her and Jimmy weren't meant to be, because instead of thinking about the man in front of her, Barry Allen was the only person she could think about.

She tried to shake it off, tried to convince herself that Barry was only a little crush, that she would easily get over him, but she couldn't do it. Even when she tried to get things to work with Jimmy, Kara just knew that it wouldn't work out. They both agreed that they just weren't compatible enough, and she didn't want to be unfair to him. Sure there was something between them, but it was nothing like what Barry made her feel.

* * *

Barry was on her mind a lot for months, and for a while, that stumped her. As if things weren't complicated enough in her love life, Kara soon faced another challenge: Mon-El, who was completely different from Barry. At first she thought the Daxamite was a self-entitled playboy, lacking in any admirable traits, but over time, he began to surprise her.

At first she thought he was nothing more than a partying womanizer, but she was mistaken. Mon-El was willing to change himself for her, to be a hero because of her, and she found that flattering. It was when Mon-El kissed her right before falling into a coma that she thought she was finally getting a break, that maybe she had a chance with someone who wasn't from a completely different world. But as luck would have it, that very same day was when she'd see Barry Allen again.

When Kara least expected it, there he was in her apartment. Just like that, all thoughts of Mon-El were gone, and she felt that inexplicable yearning that only Barry could make her feel. Smiling in his presence wasn't hard, but pulling away from the embrace she gave him was. He asked for her help to fight aliens threatening to his invade his Earth, and she was willing to join him right away. She didn't need to think about it. She would always be there to help him.

Being with him again, even just platonically, felt so strange and unreal. She never thought she'd see him again. Just when she started to have feelings for Mon-El, Barry Allen came running back into her life. It was like fate was messing with her, trying to confuse her, and it worked.

* * *

Following the battle with the Dominators, Kara came back to her Earth with her infatuation with Barry stronger than ever, and this time, her feelings left her so much more conflicted. He was in a relationship with a woman named Iris West, who he'd been in love with since they were children. She couldn't compete with that, and she definitely didn't have the right to. She could tell they loved each other, so she pushed her feelings aside. If Barry was happy with Iris, then Kara could be happy too right? She had Mon-El didn't she?

As sweet as Mon-El was, he was no Barry Allen to her. She felt horrible even thinking that, because she genuinely did care about Mon-El, but if it ever came down to her choosing him or Barry, Kara would choose Barry every single time. There was nothing she wouldn't do for Barry, and that scared her.

When she found out Mon-El was lying to her, she felt a lot emotions, but she felt stupid more than anything. How could he even think she wouldn't find out? She almost wanted his parents to take him off planet so that she wouldn't need to be so angry at him, and that he would be out of her life. Kara couldn't help but think that she should've known better than to trust a Daxamite.

Of course that wasn't the end of her and Mon-El, or her and Barry. Music Meister brought her back to Barry Allen in a bizarro musical alternate reality, one that she wished she could have lived in. It was such a nice break from the heartbreak she'd dealt with at the time; just singing songs with a man she was utterly infatuated with was just so corny and fun, she couldn't help but actually like it.

When she saw Iris and Mon-El together in the musical, she was hurt, sure, and a bit weirded out, but it reminded her of the way things should be; Barry with Iris and her with Mon-El. That way, no one would get hurt. No one but her. But she was used to shouldering problems for everyone else. Music Meister said he wanted to help two people with broken hearts, but hers was still fractured.

Kara left Barry's Earth with her relationship with Mon-El restored, and so she decided to make the best of things. Mon-El loved her, she knew, and she did love him too to some extent. She felt like she owed him a chance, and she didn't want to hurt him just because she was hurting herself.

* * *

As she opened up more to Mon-El, Kara began to see someone she could be with. She realized that if she kept comparing him to Barry, Mon-El wouldn't be right for her, so she didn't, and that made all the difference. Her feelings for Mon-El when she wasn't comparing him to Barry were so much more than she could have hoped. He was sweet, funny, and dorky in a way that worked (she ignored the fact that these were the same qualities she saw in Barry).

As luck would would have it, Mon-El, too, was yanked away from her. She made the air toxic to him, and she was forced to send him away in a rocket; she found it almost sadly poetic that she'd helped send Barry away the first time he left her Earth, and now she was sending Mon-El away in a rocket. History repeats itself, she figured.

* * *

Fast forward several months later, and there she was, no longer knowing who or what she wanted. She couldn't help but feel so hopeless, seeing Mon-El married, and especially because Barry was about to be married. Kara knew that moping over lost love and distancing herself from others would only end up hurting her more and more over time, but at the same time, love wasn't an easy thing for her to let go of. She was tired of being heartbroken.

Kara only agreed to go to the wedding because Alex convinced her. They both needed to get over their pain, and Kara wanted to be there for her sister, who was still upset with the breakup from Maggie, as well as for Barry, even if it was just as his friend. Kara knew that she was going to the wedding for people besides herself, and maybe that wasn't the best idea. She knew the wedding would only be salt in her wounds, but if there was one thing being Supergirl did to change her, it was instilling in her a habit to put others' needs before her own.

She returned to Barry's Earth with Alex, and she saw for herself how much in love Iris was with him. From the way Iris spoke of him, Kara could tell that they were meant to be. At the rehearsal dinner, she saw how everyone knew Barry and Iris were a match made in heaven, and it stung more than it should have. When she tried to get away from everyone by sneaking away to the balcony by herself, he found her.

Of course, Barry was wondering where her plus one was, and that only made her feel worse, if that was possible. She told him about Mon-El, about how he was married to someone else, and how being Supergirl should always be her main goal. She knew Barry would have told her that love was important, and she didn't want to hear it, from him of all people. She knew she was being really pessimistic, but she just couldn't deal with love anymore. She changed the topic, asking Barry what favor he wanted to ask of her. He wanted her to sing at the wedding and of course she agreed.

* * *

The day of the wedding came, and Kara woke up with a feeling of dread in her stomach. This was it—after today, Barry would be bonded to Iris forever. This wasn't how she wanted things to be, but Kara knew that it was how things should be. They made each other happy, and Kara knew that Barry's happiness mattered to her more than her own. She could move on, right?

As she sang Running Home to You in front of all Barry's friends and family, saw Iris walking up the aisle, and Barry crying, she felt a pang in her chest, she held back tears. She wanted things to be different, wanted so desperately for this all to be over. She wanted to be away from here. She focused on the song, but she couldn't help but realize how true the words she sang were for her. She wanted to have someone to run to, to help her mend what heartbreak she was feeling… She wanted him more than anything, and she was afraid to let go of him and how she felt.

As she sat next to Alex, listening to the minister speak to everyone in attendance, Kara felt like she was close to breaking. She thought she was going to be sick. Then the minister spoke the words, "Does anyone have just cause for why these two should not be married? Speak now, or forever hold your piece."

It all happened so fast—she knew that she wanted to tell Barry how she felt, but this wasn't the place for it. It was too late for her to tell him, but she stood up anyways. She couldn't just bury whatever feelings she had for him. "I have something to say," Kara said. She could feel their eyes on her—everyone's eyes—and she could feel shame and embarrassment as she tried to decide if she really wanted to admit her feelings in front of everyone.

"Barry, I—" she started, but that was all she could say, as a burst of plasma shot towards the minister, disintegrating him. She turned around, and saw her day had just gotten more hectic, as if that was even possible. Standing in the doorway to the church were…Nazis?

* * *

A little something I've had in mind for a while. May become a chaptered story if y'all want!


	2. Chapter 2

In a way, she was glad the Nazis showed up—Kara never thought she'd be grateful for some freaking Nazis in her life. Fighting strange, unexplainable enemies like a fascist group that died out over half a century ago was an easy distraction from the stupid decision she had made.

Kara had no idea why she did what she did. It was insensitive and selfish of her to say anything, and she was humiliated by her failed confession of feelings to Barry. At the very least, the Nazis, or as Harry called them, the "Earth X-ers" gave not just her, but everyone else, particularly Barry and Iris, something else to think about for the time being. The Earth X invaders, however, didn't stop Alex from confronting her as Kara and her left S.T.A.R. Labs to wait as Felicity tried to track the Nazis.

"Kara, we need to talk," Alex said in the hardened tone she often used for interrogating.

"There's nothing to talk about." Kara really wasn't in the mood to have a heart to heart with her sister; she'd rather wallow in her own misery and regret, but she knew Alex wouldn't settle for that.

"What were you going to say at the wedding?" her sister asked, getting straight to the point.

"I genuinely don't know," Kara said. "I just… I just felt like I had to say something. But it was stupid. I just want to forget it."

"Barry won't, though," Alex answered. "You have feelings for him, don't you Kara?" Her voice is softer now. "Is that what you were going to say?"

"I…well, yes, that is kind of what I was going to say," Kara said, feeling like a melodramatic TV actress. "It's... My feelings for Barry are more than I ever felt for Jimmy, Mon-El… I've never felt this way about anyone Alex. I know that we are literally worlds apart, but something about Barry Allen just won't let go of me. I've never wanted—needed— someone as much as I do with Barry, and it scares me."

"If you genuinely believe your feelings for him can't be rivaled, even by Mon-El, then it's worth it to tell him the truth," Alex said. "I can tell that you've thought of this a lot, Kara, you just need to tell him."

"I shouldn't. He's getting married to the love of his life, I can't just drop this on him now," Kara said, embarrassed by her predicament. "I don't know what came over me. I just felt so hopeless, and just for a second, I did something without thinking of the repercussions, but now I know better."

"Kara, I know you're selfless, and you want to put Barry and his happiness before your own, but you can't just give up. I love that you want to do everything you can for others, it's one of the best things about you, but you have to know that doing something for yourself, even just telling a guy how you feel, is not selfish of you. You have to talk to him when all this is over, and I don't care if you die of embarrassment. You owe it to him and yourself to say what needs to be said. He's going to wonder why you stood up at the wedding, so it's not like you can pretend nothing happened forever."

"Alex… I don't know if I should do it," Kara said. She had always been curious what would happen if she told Barry her feelings, but now…it just looked insensitive and desperate. That's not what she wanted for him to see in her.

"You can't put this off forever Kara; I just hope you don't shrug this off."

Kara knew she wouldn't be able to shrug this off if she tried. She knew every single word that Alex said was the truth. She had suppressed her feelings for Barry so long that telling him how she felt seemed like such an impossible feat, and yet, she had almost done it at the wedding. It was so easy if she did it without thinking about it. When she thought about it, then things got complicated; she would start worrying about offending Iris or looking petty in Barry's eyes. She decided she needed to tell him without overthinking, and so Kara resolved that she would confess her feelings to Barry, no matter what, once the Nazis had been dealt with.

* * *

Iris knew that there were bigger things to think about than her love life. The Nazis had crashed her wedding, so she knew it couldn't be a coincidence that they chose an earth with so many heroes. She should have been worried about finding the bad guys and preventing them from doing anything catastrophic, but instead, she was trying to figure out what Kara was going to say to Barry at the wedding.

Iris barely knew anything about Kara besides the things that Barry told her about the Kryptonian: that she was a refugee of a destroyed planet, and that Kara and her cousin were heroes of their earth. Kara herself seemed very much like Barry—optimistic, dedicated to others, and brave in so many ways—and honestly, she could see why Kara and Barry were such good friends. However, Iris hadn't seen them as anything more than friends, but now she was questioning it.

Why else would Kara stand up at the wedding if she didn't have feelings for Barry? The more she thought about it, the more Iris got paranoid. She knew it was irrational to be afraid; even if Kara had a thing for him, it wasn't as if Barry would just abandon her for Kara. She felt like if Barry reciprocated any attraction towards Kara, he would have let both of them know; it was just the Barry-ish thing of him to do. She was going to marry Barry, and things were going to be good…except she couldn't help but feel bad for Kara.

Barry was an amazing guy, and Iris loved everything about him, and she could still remember how much it hurt to lose him to the Speedforce. In Kara's case, Barry would be married in front of her, and Iris could only imagine how bad that would make the Kryptonian woman feel; perhaps worse than Iris felt when Barry was gone.

Of course, this was all hypothetical, she thought to herself. All these thoughts would be worthless unless she was certain that Kara did have feelings for Barry. Iris couldn't be certain that that's what she was going to say at the wedding. Maybe Kara was going to say something else, she thought to herself, but no matter how much she tried to convince herself of it, Iris just didn't know for certain what Kara was going to say. She knew that by the end of this whole ordeal, she was going to find out what Kara had to say—she just wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.

* * *

Thanks for all the support on this story so far! This story will be less than ten chapters, most likely 5-7. Make sure to review and tell me if you enjoyed this chapter! Also, I will _try_ to update my Hope for the Future story this week (no promises).


	3. Chapter 3

Barry had never felt so conflicted in his life. One second, he had been so close to marrying the love of his life, then the next, one of his closest friends had stood up and made him question it all. In the time between Kara announcing she had something to say and the Nazis breaking down the door, everyone in attendance at the wedding experienced a mere few seconds. Everyone except for Barry. Time was always weird for Barry, the speedforce often bending a split second into a thousand, so he had all the time in the world to think, to wonder, what Kara could have possibly had to say to him. From the flushed look on her face and the way she had said she was always meant to be alone at the dinner rehearsal, Barry reached a likely conclusion. Could she possibly have been about to confess feelings for him?

He wasn't sure if his assumption was correct, but his reaction to the thought of it was surprising. When he had met Kara for the first time, he had to admit, he had gotten a bit of a crush on her. She was a sweet girl—kind, selfless, quirky. Unashamedly nerdy, but in a cute way that worked so well. In a lot of ways, he saw himself in her. However, he had shrugged off his feelings for her then. He felt chemistry between them, but he had to go back to his own world. He never thought he'd see her again after he left her earth, but the multiverse works in mysterious ways. He saw her several times after their first adventure together, and it always stirred up latent feelings for Barry. Then he would go back to Iris, and he'd forget, or at least try to. He wouldn't say he was head over heels in love with the Kryptonian girl, but he most certainly thought about her enough.

As he indulged in the prospect that Kara could possibly have feelings for him, Barry felt drawn to her. He could imagine a life with Kara. The more he thought about it, the more he saw potential. She was always there for him when he needed her, and whenever he was around her, he could be himself. It wasn't all that shocking, in retrospect, that maybe she really could have developed an attraction towards just as he had done towards her. Just like that, he had to know if it was true, he needed to know if she had feelings for him. Then the minister evaporated into dust and the Nazis walked in. Iris's hand tightened around his. "You've got to be kidding me," she said. And suddenly, Barry was engulfed in guilt. He was standing at the altar, about to marry the woman he'd loved for years, and he had been thinking about one of his best friends instead of his soon to be wife. What was wrong with him?

* * *

After Harry told them about Earth X and how it's denizens were the ones who had crashed the wedding, everyone had split up to rest and prepare for the fight that would inevitably come. Barry couldn't make himself face Kara or Iris, so he'd went off to the speed lab to run. He needed to think, alone—was he really falling for Kara, or was it a momentary lapse in judgement? Could he really marry Iris if he was thinking of another woman at the altar?

"Barry?" Oliver called out, breaking him out of his reverie. He dashed off of the track, coming to a halt in front of his archer friend.

"What's up Ollie?" Barry asked, feigning nonchalance. Oliver wasn't buying it. "Any news on the Earth X-ers?

"Nothing yet Barry…but you know that's not why I was looking for you," Oliver says, crossing his arms. "Kara was about to confess something to you—to all of us—and I think we both have an idea of what she was going to say."

"Oliver…" Barry starts, but he doesn't know what else he can say. Can he really say that after seeing the look on Kara's face, he's suddenly questioning if he should really go through with his marriage? "I don't know what to do. I love Iris, and not too long ago I was ready to marry her, but now I…just don't know what I want anymore. I don't want to hurt anyone…"

"Barry, this dilemma you're having, do you think you might feel so torn because there's a part of you that loves Kara?" Oliver asks. "Because I've seen the way she looks at you—the way you look at her. There's something between both of you Barry."

"Kara's unlike anyone I've ever met. She's compassionate, brave, beautiful…she's always there for me," Barry says. "But I don't know. I'd like to think Iris is the only one for me, but now I can't help but question it. There's always been latent feelings for Kara inside of me, but I've never really given much thought to it, but now…suddenly it's all I can think about."

"I know you don't want to upset anyone, and I know you love Iris," Oliver says, "but you have to be honest with yourself and her and call off the marriage if you feel you aren't absolutely certain you can be devoted to her."

"I'd never mistreat Iris…I would never do anything that would damage our relationship," Barry says. This whole thing with Kara might have him a bit messed up, but not to the extent that he would ever dare violate what he has with Iris.

"I know you aren't that kind of man," Ollie says, voice softening, "but people are only human. Back when I was with Laurel all those years ago, I was cheating on her with Sara. When I returned from the island, Laurel treated me coldly, and for good reason. I wasn't committed to our relationship because I wasn't devoted solely to her.

"She was only my girlfriend at that time Barry, but imagine being married and not being 100% dedicated to your wife," he continues. "If there's a part of you that harbors feelings for Kara, then you should confront that before marriage. The key to any healthy relationship is being honest and upfront with emotions."

Barry can't help but pick up on the irony of the Oliver telling him about being "upfront with emotions," given the situation with Felicity, but he nods all the same. Oliver is right. The only way to resolve this would be to postpone the marriage, but he doesn't know what he's going to say to Iris. This wouldn't be the first time they'd cancelled their wedding on his account, and it's not like he can just tell her he might have uncovered feelings for Kara—it would just feel wrong after all they'd been through with Savitar. Not to mention, he didn't know how he would be able to confront Kara and figure out what she was going to say. When did everything get so complicated?

* * *

A/N: Ayyyo FF! I'm back! First I wanna say thank you to everyone who's been supporting the story, whether that be following, favoriting, or reviewing. Plz don't kill me for not updating for months, but I've just been swamped with school and summer classes, not to mention severe writers block and just straight up laziness, to be honest. I do really want to complete this story, as well as others, but this story is my priority now, as it has the most support. Second, I just wanted to clarify that yes, this is SuperFlash endgame, though their are some WestAllen undertones/moments. Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter jumps forward to after Barry, Kara, Ollie, and the others get defeated in part 2 of Crisis. I had no idea how to transition into this from the last chapter, so here you are :P

* * *

The first thought that came to Barry's mind when he came to in the concentration camp alongside his friends was a question: where was Kara? The subsequent second thought in this head: why was his first worry about Kara, and not his fiancé, Iris?

As he woke more fully under the harsh camp lights, Barry felt a wave of guilt. He wished that the reason Kara was his waking thought would be because of the perilous plan that the Nazis had for her, almost like fear that one would have for a close friend. He wished, but that would not make it true. He was afraid for her life because he didn't want to know what it would do to him, considering the feelings that had begun to stir in him for her.

Looking at all the people suffering around him, Barry felt even worse, thinking of all the wretched and painful things they could do to Kara. His friends agreed that this place was sickening, but they couldn't do anything about it—the powering dampening collars around their necks prevented any hopes of escape. They'd have to find a different way to make it to their earth. Alex was desperate to save Kara, and, internally, so was he.

Sara and Oliver were confident, claiming that they would escape and triumph over the Nazis, but it did little for the dread that filled Barry at the thought of Kara being torn open and of Iris and his friends being cruelly imprisoned, as he was now. He wanted to be brave for their sakes, and he tried to appear that way, but on the inside, his mind was dizzy with panic. How could they possibly get out of this mess?

He wasn't ready to die—not in the state he was in. Barry needed to find peace with where his feelings were for Iris and Kara. He owed it to both of them. He would make it back to them if it was the last thing he'd do. And then he'd figure out the mess of emotions that was in his heart—but as the minutes passed, his hope was slowly diminishing. Would this be his end? Was this finally the day where the heroes lose and love would be silenced?

* * *

Kara awoke drenched in crimson sunlight, and the events of the previous day struck her hard. They had lost. The Earth-Xers has defeated them. As she frantically looked around the S.T.A.R. Labs operating room, her heart sank. Where was Barry?

"Oh, so you're finally awake." Kara turned her head at the snide voice of her doppelganger. She swore if the red sun radiation wasn't draining her, her heat vision would have already sparked. "It's a shame you didn't stay asleep. The operation would have been easier without you resisting. Or at least trying to resist."

"Tell me where my friends are," Kara demanded firmly, merely eliciting a pompous laugh out of the Earth X general.

"Always the selfless little girl," her doppelganger mocked. "They're quite literally a world away from us at the moment, but no matter—they won't suffer long. A firing squad has been ordered to kill them all within the hour." Kara felt her stomach lurch at the general's words. Her friends were in trouble—Barry was in trouble—-and she was powerless to help them. "Oh come on, don't tell me you feel anything for those foolish 'do-gooders.'"

"They're my friends, and people's lives mean more than any power in the world," Kara said. "Now I know why you need my heart…yours is incapable of love."

The General's malicious grin only grew at Kara's angry words. "You've got some nerve talking to me about being 'incapable of love' Kara. Seriously, talk about pathetic. Now why were you here in the first place…a wedding? The man you love about to be married to another woman, and you just sat there and watched the whole thing, only somehow managing the courage to speak up right before we crashed the wedding. How could you be such a pushover?

"I mean, really, you've spent so much time for meaningless heroics when you could've been getting what you want. One of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, and you can't even tell the man you love how you feel. How adorably sad," she said, pinching Kara's nose teasingly.

"I was being selfless," Kara answered defensively, her face reddening. "I'm putting others' needs before my own. Barry was happy with Iris, and I had no right to get in the way of that."

"No, you were being weak. You let the world step all over you, and lost a chance at happiness out of fear of being rejected or being despised for honesty," Overgirl said with a twisted grin. "I mean really, ripping your heart out is doing both of us a service. Can you say I'm wrong?" Kara tried to snap back, give some retort to the other woman, her mouth opening and closing, but words did not come out. The general scoffed.

With that, the evil Kryptonian strutted away, leaving Kara to stew in the red sun lamp. As much as she hated to think it, Kara couldn't help but wonder if there was some ounce of truth in what the general had told her. Was she really being selfless? Or was she just too soft to say what needed to be said? She wanted to believe that she was taking the high road, but was she really just wasting her life away, breaking her own heart for some delusional sense of morality?

Kara's self reflection was suddenly interrupted by a blackout, the sound of metal hitting the ground, and the unmistakable popping of gunfire, followed by familiar, startled shouts. Struggling against her restraints in vain, Kara felt fear seize her entire being. Someone had come to help her—and they'd been hurt in the process.

* * *

Here we are at last! Chapter 4! Expect chapters 5 and 6 soon! Chapter 5 in particular is going to be pivotal...


	5. Chapter 5

Iris knew the risks—she just wishes that she had been luckier. When the Nazis seized control over S.T.A.R. Labs, she and Felicity were the only ones left to free their friends. Neither of them were active in combat, but Felicity figured that the two of them could sneak through the ventilation shafts and free at least one of their super powered friends.

The plan was going well. They managed to blackout the building, and were on their way to free Kara when the ventilation shaft collapsed, causing them both to fall right into the path of rifle-toting Nazi guards. There was no time to react, no way to escape. The Nazis shot them—not fatal, just painful flesh wounds. Now she was being held by the neck by a burly Nazi soldier, same as Felicity, clutching her side and biting her tongue to stop the groans of pain escaping.

Iris was scared, angry, and in pain as she and Felicity were roughly directed towards the main room of the lab, the sight of a restrained Kara in full view. Iris felt a heaviness in her chest as Kara twisted her head to look at them, wide-eyed and more fearful than ever before. No doubt that she and Felicity were doomed—a Jewish woman and a black woman were nothing but dirt to these deluded bigots. She desperately wanted Barry to come here and fix this, but it didn't seem like anyone was coming to the rescue. As the lights shuttered back on, Overgirl sauntered pompously up to them, flanked by Eobard Thawne.

"My, my, this is quite the turn of events," Overgirl said with a twisted smile.

"Let them go, you don't need them," Kara said, in a way that Iris supposed was meant to sound authoritative, but came out weak and garbled. "I am all you need. Hurting them will do nothing."

"They shut off the power and tried to stage a rescue," Thawne replied plainly. "I think they deserve a little pain. This one, I would particularly like to make suffer. I would relish to kill the fiancé of Barry Allen." Pinching Iris's cheek, Thawne glared at her with a bloodthirsty hunger.

"No, no. Let me have a word with her. Girl to girl. You boys can go escort Miss Smoak out," Overgirl told him.

"No. I've wanted to kill her for a long time," Thawne growled.

"You came to us, to my husband and I, so you obey me. And you will listen when I command you," Overgirl told him stonily.

Though he looked none too pleased to obey her, Thawne gestured to the guard holding Felicity captive, and with that the trio walked out of the room.

As soon as Thawne and Felicity had left, Overgirl turned to Iris with a devious gleam in her eye. Iris didn't like it one bit. Kara looked even more uncomfortable now, if that was possible. "Well Kara? Are you going to say something, or should I?" Overgirl asked without looking away from Iris. Kara muttered something darkly; from the look on her face, Iris figured it was some pretty foul Kryptonian swearing. Overgirl winced. "Language. You want to say something to start off, almost-Mrs. West-Allen?"

Iris figured what this was about. It made perfect sense what Overgirl was doing—the general was playing mind games with them. Playing with her food. Which once again brought up the suspicion Iris had been trying to push away for the time being. "It has something to do with the wedding doesn't it?" Kara's stubborn refusal to meet her eyes was all Iris needed for confirmation.

"Very good, Iris," Overgirl said with a clap of the hands. "At least one of you two has a spine. Kara, your turn. Mind telling her what I'm sure she already knows?"

"Go to hell!" Kara shouted, her face contorted in a mixture of pain from the red sun radiation and rage from Overgirl's condescending tone. The outburst shocked Iris—Kara was the epitome of control and positivity. Never would she think she'd hear the Kryptonian heroine ever swear in her life.

"Kara… It's okay," Iris said, not wanting to escalate the situation. She most certainly was not okay, but that would not help ease the tension in the room. And she definitely did not want to stoop to the level Overgirl expected them to drop to. "I get it. Barry is an amazing guy. I understand."

"It's not okay, Iris," Kara said, her voice now soft and defeated. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way. I never meant for anyone to know. That was a slip up at the wedding. It was your special day, and I had no right to infringe upon that. I should have tried harder to keep it to myself."

"Should have tried harder to keep what to yourself?" Overgirl asked in mock innocence. Kara muttered a response in barely a whisper. "What's that? I can't hear you." Overgirl sang a bit too gleefully.

"I love Barry," Kara confessed, her eyes now closed, failing at keeping tears from escaping. With that, Iris's stomach plummeted. She figured she'd known this, that she was denying it, but hearing it aloud made it irrefutably true. The sheer range of emotions that broiled together in that moment was overwhelming. Disbelief, hostility, sympathy, and insecurity clouded Iris's head. She didn't know what she should have felt in that moment.

"How long?" Iris found herself asking. The words broke through without much of a thought.

"Since I met him…" Kara said, her guilt ridden, bloodshot eyes finally meeting Iris's. "But you have to know…I never did anything with him. He's happy with you. You complete him. I never wanted to violate that. The wedding was a mistake—I never should have came."

"What she means to say is that she was a coward. _Is_ a coward," Overgirl stated, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. "Kara really needed this push. You see, all this time she's been hurting because she can't just tell someone she loves them. At least I got her some closure."

"I'm sorry, Iris," Kara croaked. It sounded so feeble, almost like she was begging for mercy. Iris felt a rush of guilt for feeling anger towards the Kryptonian. She understood the woman's plight. She couldn't hate Kara for putting herself through heartbreak for the sake of her and Barry's happiness.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Iris said, feeling her own eyes start to water. "Nothing at all." And that was the truth. She wasn't sure if either of them would live to settle the situation, but if this was how they were going to go down, Iris didn't want to die spiteful. Kara had to know that she understood.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Overgirl piped up, discouraged. _Bitch,_ Iris thought. "Since this is settled, I think you've exceeded your usefulness, Ms. West. I think I'll hand you over to Eobard now."

* * *

This chapter was a bit of a toughie to write. My main goal was not to make Iris seem bitchy over the confession, but at the same time have her still have some negative reaction to Kara's feelings for Barry. Overall I think this chapter turned out alright, but tell me what you think. Also, expect Ch. 6 soon!


	6. Chapter 6

I just want to preface this by saying that if you don't ship Superflash, then just don't bother reading, and certainly do not waste your time reviewing. If, for some reason, you vehemently hate Karry, then just leave. Anyways, onto the story.

* * *

 **Warning:** Heavy angst and generally depressing content inbound

* * *

She thought that what she did was the right thing. She felt like she could be at peace with what happened, and what she sacrificed. She only hoped that it was not in vain.

See, when Ray had saved them from the Nazis, catching Oliver X and Thawne off guard, they thought they were in the clear. They would escape and things would end okay. Sure they were wounded and drained of energy now, but that would be fixed. They would win, despite the fears she had for losing no more than half an hour ago. Just like always, they would win in the end.

Then Ray took a shock arrow to the back. In no way were they able to take on Dark Arrow on their own. They were compromised. She knew what she had to do—stand up to the bastard, let them know she wasn't afraid. She looked the evil archer in the eyes and told him that they would not stop fighting. Told them that she'd have to die for them to get what they want. "Get the hell off our Earth while you still can," she told him. He looked ready to kill her.

Then Oliver came to the room, an Arrow pressed to the neck of Overgirl. He told his doppelgänger that he would kill the Earth X general if the Nazis did not leave. It was a standoff, the air thick with tension. The look of anger, desperation, indecision, and bigoted hatred burned in the Führer's eyes. His wife alive or the death of an enemy. Which would he choose? She gravely hoped that the Nazi leader would choose his wife over her. She was afraid to die, but at the same time, she knew that she would give her life if it meant saving her world. She knew that sacrificing herself would be the right choice, and she was scared to accept that.

Then, Nazi Oliver fired his bow.

It was if the world was moving in slow motion as the arrow whistled towards her. She had heard before people die, their lives flashed before their eyes, but she saw a lone person within her mind's eye. Barry, and how much she loved him. She closed her eyes, indulging in her final living memory. Then the Arrow pierced her already bleeding body. Shock spread throughout her body as the razor sharp arrowhead penetrated her skin.

With that, Iris West fell to the ground, blood pooling, as her vision and faded to dark emptiness.

* * *

As soon as the arrow lodged itself into Iris's chest, Kara let loose a bloodcurdling scream. It escaped her lips involuntarily. "No!" she shouted, her voice anguished. Never had she felt so hopeless in her life since the destruction of Krypton. Thanks to the long red sun radiation exposure, she had been powerless to stop the Arrow. She could tell that even the good Oliver was shocked by his doppelganger's action. So much so that the arrow dropped from his hand with a deafening clang. A second later, a red lightning whisked the two Nazis away from the room, leaving Oliver and Kara alone with a dying Iris West. Another second later, Barry was there, in a flash of red and gold.

Though the mask obscured most of Barry's face, Kara could see the devastated look on Barry's face, now a hollow, pale hue. "Iris!" he shouted, dashing to her side, removing his mask in the process. Tears streaked his face as he knelt next to her limp body, picking her up bridal style. He looked like the persona of sorrow, holding his dying love, and Kara could feel her eyes, her throat, her everything, burning with a horrid blackened sadness.

"Get her to the Waverider, the Legends might be able to save her," Oliver said to him. Barry nodded slightly and was gone in a split second. As she turned her head to look at Oliver, Kara could tell the archer did not really have too much confidence in what he had said to his friend.

"I hope to Rao she'll make it," Kara found herself saying to him.

"God knows what Barry will do if she doesn't," Ollie answered back.

* * *

He wasn't quick enough to save her. He could have, but he didn't. He was too slow.

He had felt pretty confident with himself before it happened. He'd defeated Metallo with his friends. Barry had felt on top of the world after the victory. He had expected to see Iris smiling at him, happy, when he ran off to find her. Instead he found her dying, the Nazi leaders gone, while Kara and Oliver stood silently near her unmoving, bloodied body. Oliver told him that he could still try to save her, but the words rang hollow with the speedster. He tried anyway. Barry zoomed off to the Waverider, his fiancé dying in his arms, and turned her over to the ships medical bay.

After two agonizing hours watching Kaitlyn, Alex, and Gideon try to save her, he knew it was over. Kaitlyn met his eyes with a somber gaze as the machine flatlined. "I'm sorry Barry," she said, but she may as well have said nothing. Besides for him and Iris, this moment was devoid of anyone or anything else.

"God I'm sorry, Iris," he sobbed. Barry collapsed onto the operating table, body slouched over his girlfriend's now dead body, her blood soaking his cheek and his tears doing the same to her skin and violently shredded shirt. He felt his body shake with tremors and all he could do was wail. Guilt of all kinds occupied his heart as he took her hand in his, gripping it, as if doing so hard enough would shock her back to life. He left guilt for not saving her…for living while she lost her life…for not being fast enough to stop Oliver X…but most of all, he felt guilty for not completely loving her in her final moments in life.

For the final hours of his fiancé's life, he had been too busy worrying over if he loved Kara too. He wanted to wipe it away, forget that he had been too preoccupied to see who really mattered. But he couldn't. Nothing but contempt filled his chest. Just like that, it was like his heart shattered and was replaced with a burgeoning void. He hated himself.

* * *

Sorry Iris West fans :(

This actually did have to happen to push along the plot I had in mind, but I promise this will not just be a story about Kara being the rebound girl. Killing Iris off was something I really questioned whether I should do or not, but ultimately I figured that this would work best, as I just cannot imagine Iris doing anything to push Barry away and towards Kara. This is not the last of Iris, however. I will eventually bring her back to some extent, but not fully. I'm sure some of you CW Flash fans will get what I'm hinting at ;)

Anyways, I digress. See you with Ch. 7!


	7. Chapter 7

Here's a POV I don't think y'all were expecting...

* * *

Iris's and Stein's deaths proved to be overwhelming for everyone. There was a somber air in the Waverider, as everyone processed the two losses, the clustered ship dead silent for the first time in a while. Oliver knew no one on the ship was a stranger to loss, but two so close to each other could only be shattering.

He felt horrible for Barry especially, losing his fiancé and one of his mentors. He knew the kind of anger that came with loss like that. He knew it was enough to drive a man to drastic measures. Oliver certainly knew the thirst for vengeance well enough, and it scared him to think what would happen if Barry snapped. He knew how much Iris had meant to the speedster, and to lose her… Well, Oliver could only imagine it would've been similar to how he reacted to Laurel's death.

But Barry and Iris had been closer and shared a much stronger bond that he and Laurel ever did. To have someone that important in your life yanked away would be catastrophic. Barry always had the power to bounce back, but what if losing Iris pushed him over the edge? The idea made Oliver shudder. Could this death be enough to warp Barry into something evil? Could this be the one thing to break the stubbornly hopeful Barry Allen?

Shaking away his fears for Barry, Oliver decided to face the current problem at hand. The Earth-Xers needed to be stopped before anything else was dealt with. He called for everyone to meet in the Waverider's bridge. Looking around at them all, he saw expressions of pain, some disguised by grim determination, others not so much. Barry wouldn't look up at anyone as he trudged into the bridge last. His eyes were rimmed red, from what Oliver could tell, and his fists were clenched, arms shaking and vibrating subconsciously.

Kara, on the other hand, looked worried more than anything. Oliver saw her about to reach out to him, so he met her gaze and shook his head subtly. She looked hurt—he knew she meant well—but the last thing Barry needed would be to feel more guilty after Iris's death. The best option would be to give him space.

"I know that we have lost a lot today," Oliver said, "but we need to push forward. We can't afford to mourn yet. Those Nazis are still out there. We need to avenge the dead. The Dark Arrow and Overgirl are still up in the air, so we need to confront them before they do any more damage."

"I agree," Sara said. "They would have wanted for us to stop those bastards."

"How do we find them?" Ray asked.

"I believe I know where they are," Gideon suddenly piped in. "We are receiving a transmission now." A hologram of Oliver X flickered to life on the bridge. Glancing quickly at Barry, Oliver saw a gleam in the man's eyes. It was something Oliver thought he'd never see Barry express—pure loathing. Vengefulness. Hatred. He reminded Oliver too much of himself.

"My wife and I have spoken of strategy, and we wish to propose a compromise," the Führer said. "You hand over Supergirl to us, and we leave your earth. No more, no less."

"And if we don't?" Alex asked, arms crossed.

"We will level Central City. Then Star City. Then Keystone. We'll destroy every city if we need to. But it will be easier to just hand over Supergirl. What do you say?"

"I say we'll take our chances," Oliver said, cutting off the transmission, nodding curtly to a grateful Kara.

"Gideon, track the transmission location," Sara said, taking the captain's seat. "Get ready everyone, this will take a bit." Taking a glance around the room, Oliver saw Barry leaning against the wall, his eyes still bloodshot. He looked like hell. Oliver knew what had to be said, he just didn't relish it at all.

"Barry, you mind if I talk to you personally?" Oliver asked. The speedster nodded, and the two went to corridor.

"What is it Oliver?" Barry inquired, his voice soft.

"I want you to sit this one out."

"What?" Barry questioned, his voice now stupefied. "No." Oliver figured Barry would have reacted like this—it wasn't all that surprising. Still, it was worth a shot.

"Barry, trust me when I tell you that you aren't in your right mind right now. The grief has gotten to you worse than any of us, and it's perfectly fine. I just don't want you out there when you're upset."

"Oliver, she was going to be my wife. I can't just sit here. I need to bring her killer to justice." Oliver didn't like they sound of that. When his crusade began, he had gone on about serving justice. That justice was making pincushions out of men.

"We will Barry. Believe me, please. The anger, the sorrow, it's all a lot. I just don't want you to do something you'll regret," Oliver told him truthfully. Barry was the best of any of them; if he were to cross the line, Oliver wouldn't know what to do.

"I get where you're coming from, but it's not your decision whether or not I go with you guys." Barry was now indignant, his face hard set. His arms were, once again, shaking, vibrating subconsciously. It was pretty daunting. Still Oliver stood his ground.

"Barry, you aren't in the mental state to deal with this properly," Oliver told him.

"I'm not a kid," Barry snarled. "I need to do this. I'm not going to do nothing when Iris's murderer is right there." From the way the speedster was gritting his teeth, Oliver knew that his point was only being proven correctly.

"Barry should go," a third voice spoke. Kara approached the two. "We've found their location. We'll need all the help we can get, and Barry is the only one of us fast enough to deal with Thawne. Besides it's...it's what Iris would have wanted." Oliver couldn't help but notice Kara looking down at her feet when she said Iris's name. This seemed to be lost on Barry however.

"I'm going Ollie. I'd like to see you stop me." With Barry gone, Oliver turned on Kara.

"How can you be encouraging him?" the archer asked her incredulously. "Wouldn't you of all people want him to stay here? Keep him from crossing the line?"

"I believe in him. I believe he'll do the right thing in the end. And ultimately, he'll realize that nothing will bring Iris back. It won't stop him from loving her." There was a kind of hollowness in Kara's voice as she said this.

"Do you love him?" Oliver asked her. He didn't know why he asked; maybe he just needed to know.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, evading the question. "I just want him to be happy. Seeing him broken like this… it's just tearing me up." He could hear her voice quaver, the sound of her softly sniffling. He didn't know what to say to her. He did, however, have the answer to his question.

"And you truly believe letting him out there is the best choice?"

"Yes," Kara answered. "And if he goes off the end, I'll stop him myself." Oliver couldn't help but feel like she sounded more unsure than she thought she did.

* * *

Here ya go! Chapter 7! Sorry for the semi long wait, but I've been busy since summer ended. I'm not even going to bother speculating when Chapter 8 will be up, just know that the story will be over in the next couple of chapters. Sorry this was more Westallen than Superflash, but I felt this was necessary.

Anyways, I've seen the first episode of Supergirl and Arrow, as well as the first two episodes of Flash this season, and I have to say that Arrow and Flash especially look good this year. May or may not love Nora Allen XD. Which brings me to a question. After this story, I want to know if y'all would read my own version of Flash Season 5. It will be Nora Allen centric and half of it will take place in the future, with not too much Westallen. That's all I can say without spoiling my (hopefully) good ideas. Please let me know in a review if you'd read my version of Nora's story!

Alright, until the next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

Barry wanted vengeance. He thought he'd known darkness, but this was new, unbridled rage. He'd never felt more hopeless. Angry. Overcome with guilt. He had never felt so much of a failure as he did now. Never has had he felt so many of the things until he lost Iris. He'd lost the one woman he was going to swear to protect for the rest of his life.

At first it was like a raging flame in the pit of his stomach, but now it was like a hollow emptiness. He knew the way to fill that void would be to take the life of the man who had taken his Iris from him. It was with this mindset that he decided he wouldn't sit out the fight with the Nazis. He needed to right the wrong that had been done unto him.

Oliver was right to assume that Barry had every intent to kill the Dark Arrow. How could he not want to kill the son of a bitch? Oliver was wrong, however, to say that this was something Barry shouldn't do. Barry knew Ollie had good intentions at heart, but the speedster couldn't help but think that this was different. This was personal. Death had to come, and while it wouldn't be able to bring back Iris, it sure would feel good, satisfying—right. It would be justice.

So Barry did what he needed. He went down from the Waverider, with a single goal in mind. The death of Earth X Oliver Queen. Nothing less would suffice.

* * *

Kara worried for Barry as soon as she saw him join the fight. She didn't see the man she loved—she saw a bloodthirsty shell of man. Suddenly, she regretted her decision to argue with Oliver that Barry was okay to fight. At the same time, she didn't have the heart to tell Barry not to avenge his fiancé. He had every right to get justice for her. Kara didn't think Barry would ever cross the line to get that justice, but now she wasn't so sure.

Barry was, in Kara's eyes, the very essence of goodness in humanity. He would always take the high road in the end. He would never kill, and his sense of morality would always lead to the best choice possible. Just the fact that Barry possessed a sense of ethics reasonably higher than that of a normal man was one of the most prominent reasons that Kara loved him, but it seemed that the man she'd fallen in love with was losing himself to hate, as he dashed through Nazis with a sort of insatiable hatred, like a speed demon.

As much as she wanted to ensure Barry wouldn't do anything drastic, Kara knew she had a job to do. She blasted off from the battle and went to confront Overgirl in the sky.

"Miss me?" she asked Overgirl as she hovered outside the Wellenreiter. She was more than eager for a fair rematch. The Earth X leader narrowed her eyes and charged Kara, breaking through the cockpit towards her doppelgänger.

* * *

Meanwhile, Barry's rampage was interrupted as a familiar yellow streak swathed in scarlet lightning slammed into him. "Think you can take me this time Allen?" Thawne asked with a laugh. Barry's answer was to rush towards the future speedster, beginning a chase throughout the city. The two speedsters zipped throughout the battlefield, weaving through the heroes and Nazis alike. However, as Barry was consumed by anger, the chase was short. Thawne, of much calmer demeanor, easily pinned Barry, slamming him against the wall of a skyscraper a couple blocks away.

"This has always been your problem, Barry," Thawne tutted condescendingly. "You always let passion control you. You're reckless, not to mention weak. You could do so much if you didn't let such petty things as 'love' dictate your every move."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Barry snarled. How could Thawne know what love was if he was incapable of it?

"Do I not?" Thawne said tauntingly, removing his mask to reveal a victorious smile. "Your mother dies, then your father, and then you try to create Flashpoint. Out of some desperate desire to fix the past, you screwed up the timeline because you were weak, you couldn't carry on, and so you let your emotions control you into making a grand mess of things. All because you missed mommy and daddy."

"SHUT UP!" Barry screamed.

"What was it like when Iris died, hmm? Was it like your mother's death? Did you cry like when I killed her? I wonder what this death will do to you. I'll tell you, I'm sure that Dark Arrow has better blood on his hand than Iris's," Thawne taunted.

"SHUT UP! You don't even get to say her name!"

Just the sight of the Reverse Flash filled Barry with anger, as he served as a reminder of his mother, just another person he loved but couldn't save. To see another person mock him for failing to save his loved ones, especially Iris, was more than Barry could take. He began to shake with blind fury, almost vibrating through his enemy's hold, but Thawne gripped his throat with a startling intensity.

"You are adorable," Thawne said condescendingly. "This is a side of you that I can get behind."

"I am nothing like you," Barry told him.

"Sure you aren't," Thawne said. His lip was still curled up in a satisfactory grin that he failed to hide. Then, in a flurry of crimson lightning he was…gone? For a second Barry didn't understand. And then he heard the explosion ripple miles above the city. He knew what it meant. He knew that this would be the perfect way to make the Dark Arrow suffer. With Overgirl dead, Barry had no reason to let him live further.

* * *

Kara knew that all she had to do was drain her doppelgänger. That was the whole point of the fight—to keep Overgirl from further escalating the battle on the ground. And Kara thought she was doing a good job of baiting the Nazi general away from the real fight.

When Overgirl's skin began to glow a sickly golden, Kara knew the Nazi Kryptonian's time had come. "Get her clear of the city!" Kara heard Harry yell over the comm, as an ear splitting evil Kryptonian scream filled the air. Kara grabbed her suffering doppelgänger, flying up high. With an almighty force, she pulled back her arm and sent Overgirl flying into the atmosphere with a merciful punch.

Overgirl exploded as Kara flew down like a blue and red bullet. As Supergirl dove towards the city, she heard the scream of Earth X Oliver. "NO!" However, as she got closer, she noticed a familiar yellow-orange streak dashing towards him, at the same speed. Realizing what was coming, Kara willed herself to fly downwards faster. As she slammed into the street, leaving a crater in the ground, she realized she'd failed to come quick enough.

* * *

Barry stood atop a van, murder in his eyes, Dark Arrow's throat in his grasp, with the Earth 1 Oliver on the ground, bow drawn and pointed directly at Barry.

"You don't want to do this Barry!" Oliver shouted. "I will shoot you! Just stand down. Let us imprison him. This is a line you don't want to cross!"

"No Oliver. I'm done. I'm not taking this lying down. Not like I always do," Barry said. He was now beyond reason. This had to be done. For Iris. For justice.

Then Kara landed on Oliver's side of the standoff, fracturing the concrete beneath her. For the first time since the wedding, her sky blue eyes locked with Barry's. "Let. Him. Go." She said it authoritatively, her voice strong. Her eyes, however, were bloodshot—full of fear. Fear of him. Fear _for_ him. They stood like that for a while, eyes engaged in a silent battle. Hers, practically pleading him to stand down, and his, trying desperately to cling to the anger that could help him kill Dark Arrow and satiate the desire to avenge his would have been wife.

"Well, go on," Earth X Arrow said with a snarl. "Do you want me to tell you what it was like? Watching the life drain from her eyes? Or would you rather kill me and see it for yourself?"

"Don't listen to him!" Oliver bellowed. "Let him go, Barry. It's not worth it."

"How can you know that Oliver?" Barry asked him, eyes burning. "How can you know if I shouldn't do it? This scum killed millions! He killed my fiancé! How can you want to spare him? Maybe death needs to be the answer sometimes!"

"No… Barry…" Kara said weakly. Barry once again turned his gaze to her, and he was met with an overwhelming sight. She was crying, her nose pink and face flushed. He'd never seen her so sorrowful.

"Kara… I need to do this," Barry said, refusing to acknowledge the sinking in his heart as he saw her cry for him. "You have to understand."

"But I don't, Barry!" she sobbed, tears now breaking through the floodgates in rapid succession. "Rao, what have you made of yourself? Vengeance? Murder? Is this really you, Barry Allen? Is this the woman that I—that Iris fell in love with? What happened to the good man that I know you are? What happened to the Flash, the symbol of hope? Because I miss him. And I don't want to lose him to this." Kara still remained motionless, her watery eyes locked on his. For a few moments, they were all that existed. Just the two of them, engaged in a struggle of morals.

"Well, Flash. What are you waiting for? Do it!" Dark Arrow egged him on. "KILL ME! C'MON! Iris would have wanted this! Give her the avenging she deserves!" But Oliver X's goading was now lost on Barry. Kara's pain and anguish made him realize what he was becoming, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. Making her suffer was the last thing he wanted to do.

With great reluctance, Barry stopped vibrating his hand and instead knocked out the Nazi Arrow with a rapid punch to the face. "I refuse to stoop to your level. Even if you took my wife," Barry said. He then turned to the good Oliver. "Take him." With a nod, Ollie scooped up his doppelgänger.

"You did the right thing. I knew you'd be better than murder. I'll take him to Lyla at ARGUS, see what they can do with him," Oliver said, leaving Kara and Barry alone.

"Kara… I'm so sor—" Barry started, but he was cut off as she practically pounced on him, her arms wrapped around him in a tender embrace.

"Don't apologize," she whispered into his ear, still crying. Barry felt tears fall down his own face as he held her. What had he done?

"Thank you…for stopping me," Barry said into her hair.

"Just don't ever do that again," Kara said, squeezing him tighter. Barry winced at her super strength. "Sorry," she said, pulling away. If he missed her warmth and the feel of her against him, he didn't say.

And if he wanted to kiss her, he kept that quiet too.

* * *

That night, Barry's dreams and thoughts were filled with Iris and Kara. In the empty loft, all he could think about was lost love and new love, of two women who changed his life and really made him a hero. The thing is, he didn't know what to do next. What was the right thing to do?

* * *

So here it finally is, ch. 8! I know, I know, my action writing needs work, but let's overlook that yes? Anyways, tell me what y'all think and hit me with those reviews for a faster update. All that's left is the epilogue. It's gonna be looooong (maybe), and reviews are pretty much the fuel that keeps my keyboard running.

Also, a shameless plug: my Nora Allen story, _Twins Out Of Time_ , has chapter 1 posted. Please check it out if you are interested and give me feedback, as this will be my next major Arrowverse project after I've uploaded the epilogue for this story.

Alright, until the epilogue!


	9. Chapter 9

**Epilogue Part 1**

It was early August. At quick glance, it appeared that Kara has everything she could have asked for. She'd found a city of her people who survived the destruction, defeated Reign, and finally found closure between herself and Mon-El. But, truth be told, while Kara was grateful for this turn of events, only one person could make her happy: Barry.

She wanted more than anything to stay behind after the Earth X incident. She wanted to be there for him, to be his strength, but she couldn't help but feel like Iris's death was her fault. She'd failed to save her, so Kara couldn't help but feel like she was to blame. Alex tried to tell her otherwise, that the death was out of her hands, but Kara wouldn't accept it. She left with her sister shortly after Earth-X Oliver was locked away, racked with pain for Barry and having to leave him to grieve.

She certainly couldn't tell Barry how she felt, not after all that happened. It wasn't right. Still, this didn't stop Kara from thinking of Barry all the time, just like before. Her heart ached for him every time he came to mind. More often than she could recall, Kara wanted to reach for her interdimensional necklace and see him, hold him, and just be enveloped by his presence, pouring out all of her pent up feelings into him.

She wanted to, but she couldn't.

* * *

It had been several months since the Earth X crisis had occurred, and still, it wasn't easy for Barry. Not that he ever expected it to be. Even defeating Devoe barely felt like a victory, and every night, Barry found himself home alone, refusing the company of this friends and family. His optimism and peppiness was gone—those idealized emotions had died with Iris.

While he was no longer consumed by a desire for vengeance, Barry did feel anger spout every now and then. On the particularly hard nights, he found himself plagued by dark thoughts, contemplating what his life with Iris could have been. Often he wanted to scream to the world, "Why me?" At times he was certain he was going to break himself in a bout of guilt and hopelessness.

Then he thought of Kara, and how she'd cried because of him, and for a few blissful moments, nothing else mattered. He'd think of her, of how he felt about her and how she probably felt about him. He'd wonder what would have happened if he'd spoken up instead of letting her go back to her earth with things left unsaid.

But almost instantly afterwards, he'd feel like he was betraying Iris's memory and the cycle would repeat itself again. Guilt and desperation, followed by comforting thoughts of Kara, and then more guilt and desperation.

* * *

It was a dark night when it happened—as dark as it gets. Barry was in one of his angrier moods. Despite it being late summer, the bed felt colder than usual without someone by his side. Months later, he still wasn't used to being alone. He didn't think ever he would be fine again. As was often the case, Barry's restless mind came to rest upon Iris. And, of course, it wasn't just the happy thoughts that accompanied the memory of her. Not only did her smile come to mind, but also her glassy, lifeless eyes in her final moments. Not only did he recall the feel of her lips on his, but also her slick blood that pressed against his cheek as he cried in desperation.

It was in these cold, swirling memories that Barry felt a rush of vengeance course through him once more, and this time, Kara wasn't there to stop him. He wasn't sure what he was going to do or say, but Barry was feeling rather confrontational in that moment. In the middle of the night, he decided he was going to face his fiancée's killer and finally put the nail in the coffin.

S.T.A.R. Labs lit up as Barry came into the building. No one was there—that was to be expected, yet Barry had kind of wished someone would stop him from doing whatever his impulses would guide him towards. As he marched deliberately through the pipeline, Barry approached the cell he was looking for. He found himself looking at the Earth-X Fuhrer asleep in his containment cell.

Barry had done this often following the aftermath of Iris's death, in his absolute darkest moments. Sometimes, in the days following his fiancée's death, Barry found himself coming to visit Earth X Oliver, who'd been imprisoned at S.T.A.R. Labs until Earth X had established a stable government. He'd never done anything to the man, but he came close many times before. The urge to kill him was always there every time Barry visited him, and when he left, it was like he was never there at all.

This time, however, Dark Oliver opened his eyes, meeting Barry's gaze—something that never happened before when Barry had made his secret visits in the past. The Nazi sat up and glared at Barry, a sort of hungry gleam in his eyes.

"It's been a while since you've come to visit it me," Dark Arrow said. Barry's eyes widened in shock at the realization of what his words meant. "Yes, I know you've come here to watch me sometimes. And yet, you never do anything. You're conflicted about whether or not you should let me live."

"Of course I am. Every single time I wake up alone, every time I hold the ring as I try to sleep, and every time I see her in my mind's eye, I want to take your life and makes things equal. And I guess I'm still trying to figure out if my morals are worth compromising to punish you for what you did. Because I have nothing left." Barry's eyes glistened with tears as Oliver X passively watched.

"Well, Barry Allen, do you know why I did all of this?" he asked rhetorically. "I did it out of love. For my wife. Invading this world and taking your Kara's heart was the only way to save my beloved so I did it. I did everything in my power to do it, to try and keep her with me, but I failed."

"Why are you telling me this?" Barry asked.

"Because love makes any action worth it," Oliver X said morosely. "I came here with every intent to slaughter anyone who kept me from ripping out Supergirl's heart for my wife. And now she's dead, and I've failed. Just like you. Both of our wives, dead. If that isn't a twist of faith, I don't know what is."

"I'm different than you," Barry said angrily, not caring whether or not the words he spoke were true.

"Can you really say you wouldn't do anything if meant you could save your wife? Because really, we all do things we aren't the proudest of for the ones we love. So don't act like me shooting her was personal, because I was just doing what I needed to do for myself."

Barry wanted to retaliate—to say something to contradict Oliver X's argument—but he couldn't. Despite how heinous his acts were, Oliver X's words were true. Barry had done everything he possibly could to save Iris in the crisis with Savitar, and that was proof enough that yes, Barry could and would do anything to save Iris. In a way, Earth X Oliver was just like him—a man willing to do anything for the woman he loved—and that scared Barry. Oliver X's lip curled in a triumphant smile.

Engulfed in a torrent of anger, shame, guilt, and sadness, Barry felt like his mind was being torn apart by warring emotions. He wanted to cry his heart out, let out a bloodcurdling scream, and kill Oliver X at the same time. So he chose to do what he always did when the world overwhelmed him.

He ran.

* * *

Barry ran from S.T.A.R. Labs, lightning pulsing in his veins. He needed this now more than ever. The liberation of speed took him, and nothing mattered. He focused on moving and forgetting the world—vengeance and Iris and Oliver X and Kara and guilt and anger all faded away in the ebb and flow of motion. He closed his eyes, and for a small eternity, he just let his body move and willed his mind to stay at rest for once in a long time.

He eventually zipped down a desolate road in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cold desert hills, until suddenly, space time was torn open and he came to rest in front of what he recognized as a speed force portal, much like the one he'd entered to satiate the storm after he'd defeated Savitar. Barry came to a stop, uncertain of what this meant. He certainly wasn't running fast enough to time travel or leap to another Earth. Regardless, he didn't see what he had to lose. Whether or not the speed force was calling him, he wanted to break from reality.

Without further hesitation and with no idea what was coming, Barry stepped into the portal.

* * *

Oh yes, I have not updated in a while, and I've felt pretty bad about it. Sorry, but I have been pretty busy lately, and my writing has been affected by that. Truth be told, I've been a bit lazy in regard to my time—all my free time has been consumed by DCTV (including Titans on DC Universe, I highly recommend it).

Still I made a promise to myself that I'd finish this story at the very least, so here's half the epilogue. I know I promised a conclusion last chapter but this alone took quite a bit of time. I figured that half the epilogue now and the other half later is better than making you guys wait longer for any update soooo yeah. I want to stress that after this week I should be free for a few days, so I'm going to try my best to get the actual, ultimate conclusion by Christmas as a gift for y'all. As always, I appreciate any support you guys give me—follows, favs, reviews—anything. Thanks for reading, bye for now!


	10. Chapter 10

I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me throughout the course of this story, whether it be through reviews, favorites, follows, or even just taking the time to read. I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

* * *

 **Epilogue Part 2**

Barry wasn't sure what he was expecting as he entered the Speed Force, but his loft certainly wasn't one of the first places that came to mind. Yes, as he entered the portal, Barry found himself in his living room. There was, however, something different. The room seemed…warmer. Brighter. Less desolate, like it was when he was there merely an hour ago. As he took in his surroundings, Barry tried to figure out what the speed force was trying to teach him now.

"Hi Barry." Her voice made him freeze. He never he'd hear it again, after all the months he'd suffered. But there was no way. How could she be here? Barry turned his gaze to suddenly find Iris sitting on their couch, beautiful as ever, dressed casually with a gentle smile.

"Iris…" Barry once again felt tears prickle at his eyes. She was here; it was just the two of them, like it should be. He wanted nothing more than to hold her, kiss her—try and make himself feel happy again. Then he remembered where he was, and how he'd gotten here. The speed force was manipulating him. "No… Don't do this. You aren't real. This is so twisted."

"No Barry, it's really me," she said. "You have to believe me. Look at me, babe." With great hesitation, Barry once again met her eyes, staring into them. Her lip curled up ever so slightly, head tilted as her chin rested upon her hand. She looked like a fascinated child. For a while, they remained silent, absorbing everything. He knew right away, it really was her.

"Why?" Barry said. "Why is the speed force doing this to me? How am I seeing you Iris?" It's not like he was ungrateful; he just wanted to understand.

"Because you've been hurting for too long Barry," Iris said. "C'mere." She patted the seat next to her, which Barry took. She took his hand, neither one really acknowledging her touch. Small gestures like this were second nature to them. God, did he miss it. "Barry, you know you can't go on like this. Pushing away your friends and family…indulging in dark thoughts…wallowing in your own misery. It's not a way to live."

"Iris, I'm trying. Really. But losing you… it's a part of me that I don't think can ever be restored," he told her truthfully. She'd been his first love, and she was almost the woman he was going to marry and spend the rest of his life with. Who could ever make up for that?

"Barry, I'm not asking you to forget me or forsake the memory of me," Iris said softly. "What we had—our time together—it meant the world to me. But good things don't always last. It's important to enjoy every moment, but living in the past won't do you any good."

"I can't let go of you…" Barry sobbed. "You were my lightning rod. I'm lost without you. Every day I'm stuck in this haze, and the future looks so dark without you there. I know I need to get over you, but I can't. I've lost too much."

"Barry, life is like locomotion. If you're not moving forward, you aren't living. I know you love me, and I do too, but you need to forge ahead without me. Your future is more important than my fate ever could be. You're the Flash—you've saved the world countless times, and I'm sure you'll have to again. Don't let my absence keep you from being the optimistic hero everyone needs."

"Iris…"

"If you aren't going to do it for me, do it her."

"Who?"

"Kara." To his surprise, Iris said her name without any malice or sadness. In fact, her gentle smile didn't waver at all. "Barry, I'm not blind. I think I knew for a while that you two loved each other. It just took some time for me to accept it. I didn't even really realize it too much until the wedding."

"You really think she loves me?" Barry asked.

"Honestly, Barry, you can be so dense sometimes," she said with a teasing grin. "The way she stood up and looked at you…I just knew. I thought you did too?"

"I had my suspicions…but I don't know what to do, now that I know for certain that's how she feels."

"Do you love her?" Iris asked, squeezing his hand comfortingly.

"I…I don't know. I mean, she did stop me from killing your murderer. She was the one who trusted me to go out there and fight after I lost you. She believed in me. And I suppose I do care a lot about her, and I find myself missing her more and more these days…"

"Sounds to me like you do know how you feel," Iris said.

"I guess I do. I love her…" It wasn't really an epiphany to Barry, but saying it finally made it official. It made his feelings for her more real than they'd ever been before.

"Then what's stopping you from telling her how you feel?" Iris asked. Barry figured she knew the answer to her question, but he responded anyways.

"Because I feel guilty," Barry said. "I don't want to tarnish what we had. I just…don't feel right pursuing another woman after losing you."

"Which brings us back to you needing to move on. Barry, before I died, Kara told me how she felt about you. She explained how it all happened. She's been in love with you since she met you, and all this time she's been fighting it—her heart—because she didn't want to violate your friendship or our relationship at the time. And now that I'm gone, she's probably struggling even more with those emotions. What I'm meaning to say is that both of you are too noble to be together because of me."

"She's loved me for that long?" Barry was shocked; he really hadn't expected it to have been so deep and serious.

"Yes. And she's suffered long enough. You both are in pain, and I'm sure you can heal one another," Iris said. "I know you and Kara have dealt with this mutual attraction for the past few months, but you need to give it a chance. Life's too short, especially with what you guys do. And the two of you are a couple of the greatest people I know. If anyone deserves love, it's you two."

"This doesn't bother you? At all?"

"No. As a matter of fact, I'd go so far as to say that I give you my blessing. Just go to her, let her know how you feel. And know that you aren't violating my memory. There's nothing wrong with being happy." Barry nodded slowly, mind racing and processing all of the conversation. "Good. Now go on." She signaled to a portal that had formed a few yards away.

Without hesitation, Barry leaned into Iris and met her lips with his. He couldn't help but feel content in the moment. The kiss was his final goodbye—he'd finally found closure. He'd gotten his final words with this once fiancée, and he'd finally figured things out. It was time to let go of the past, once and for all.

As soon as he pulled away, she took her hand away from his. "Goodbye, Barry Allen."

"Goodbye Iris," Barry said, standing up from the couch and heading towards the portal.

For once he didn't look back.

* * *

As he came out of the portal, Barry found himself in Kara's sunlit apartment. Just being there, in her home, filled him with nervousness. He hadn't spoken to her since the battle with the Earth X soldiers. This, coupled with the newfound acceptance of his love for her, almost made Barry leave instantly.

However, at that moment, Kara came out of her room, and the two came face to face. She'd clearly just woken up; her hair was mussed and she was still wearing her sweats and baggy white t-shirt. Regardless, Barry still felt his stomach flutter as he met her sky blue eyes. She was beautiful. "Barry…what are you doing here?"

"I've been thinking…and I want to know what you were going to say at the wedding." As soon as he said it, her face flushed pink.

"Just forget it. It was a mistake," Kara said, in a voice that clearly said the opposite.

"I don't think it was nothing. We've both been beating around the bush, trying our best to forget anything was said, but we both know there was something you wanted to say. Just be honest with me. Please."

"I…I don't know. Something along the lines of…'I love you.'" Kara looked at him, testing the waters. When he didn't react or tell her to stop, she continued. "It was a simple attraction that just never stopped growing. I found myself yearning for you in your absence and relishing every second with you. I found myself falling for you more and more as time progressed, loving everything about you, big and small. It got to the point where I thought of you everyday, and it hurt so much. When you got together with Iris, I made myself be happy for you, pushing aside my emotions. The wedding was the one time I let that inner self bleed through. I never should have violated your special day. And I just want to forget I ever felt that way about you. Can we just leave this behind us?"

He didn't answer. Instead he pulled her into a kiss, pouring out all the feelings he'd suppressed for months. He felt her tense up, but then her arms were over his shoulders, fingers laced around the back of his neck. He found his hands tangling in her hair, and what had started as a rather chaste touch of their lips turned to a heated, passionate kiss. She moaned against his mouth, and Barry pulled away as he felt something wet against his face.

She was crying, eyes rimmed red and nose pink. "Barry…?"

"Kara, I just have one more thing to ask you," Barry said. "Do you still love me?"

"Yes—yes, I do. And I don't think I ever won't anytime soon, Barry."

"Then you need to know that I love you too," Barry then said, taking Kara's hands in his. She looked at him, shocked and wide eyed. "I've known for a while. I just needed a push to really notice it, and you standing up at my wedding was enough to make me see how I feel for you."

"So where does this leave us?" Kara asked. There was just the slightest hint of uncertainty in her tone.

"I want to make this work," Barry said, squeezing her hands tenderly. "I've spent a lot of my time recently hating myself and the world. But I've come to realize that I can't live my life always being angry or depressed. You make me happy, Kara, so I want to give us a shot. What do you say?"

This time it was Kara's turn to kiss first.

* * *

Kara awoke to find Barry's arm slung protectively over her. What happened after their confessions of love was all a blur to Kara. One thing led to the next, and they had both stripped each other of their clothing. There was kissing and touching and moans and roaming hands and each other's names gasped by the other.

It was perfect.

Reflecting on what had transpired that morning, Kara felt a simultaneously surreal and giddy sense of love overwhelm her. She never thought that Barry would ever have felt the same way about her as she did for him. Now that she knew he reciprocated her feelings for him, she finally felt…happy. A radiant happiness she hadn't felt in a long time, if ever at all.

Kara knew that things between them would be hard. The past would hang over them, and being from two different earths would complicate their relationship. But she loved him and he loved her, and if she knew Barry, she knew that the two of them together would always find a way.

For love, anything would be worth it. After all, this all started with a risk at a wedding.


End file.
